NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH DYNAMICS, BENEFITS & ALIGNMENT
How to Activate the Apostolic in You (Part One)
by Jonas Clark
Jesus wants to activate the apostolic in you because it releases dynamics and benefits that will enrich your life. He's given you a team of teachers to accomplish His goal. We call those teachers five-fold ascension gifts.
We know that Jesus imparted five distinct gifts to equip His Church: some apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, pastors and teachers. Since the 1990s the Holy Spirit has been teaching us about the apostle's ministry and the release of apostolic grace into the Church. Even though some are still debating the existence and inclusion of modern-day apostles, Scripture is clear that He gave five gifts for "the perfecting of the saints for the work of ministry" (Ephesians 4).
APOSTOLIC DYNAMICS
Jesus thought five graces, including apostles, were important to the success of His Church. Let's look at how the apostolic grace releases apostolic dynamics and discover how apostolic alignment benefits the believer.
Apostolic grace releases apostolic dynamics. if we can recognize what apostolic grace does then we can position ourselves to benefit from it. Just as a pastor imparts pastoral grace, and a prophet prophetic grace, it stands to reason that an apostle would impart apostolic grace Consider what happens when you throw a rock in a pond…the impact of the stone hitting the water creates a series of waves. This is what we call the ripple effect. Just like the ripple effect, apostolic grace sets apostolic dynamics in motion throughout the Body of Christ.
IDENTIFY THE DOMINATE GIFT
If you take the time to step back and look at the Church you can see a pattern of ministry. Our services have a structure. We open in prayer, sing some songs, make announcements, receive an offering, preach or teach the Word, have an altar call, and, finally, close with more prayer. The dominant grace of the main leader of that local church is set in motion during those services.
Every church has a dominant gift that leads and influences the direction of that church. If we are a pastoral church we focus on caring, counseling and nurturing our members. And, of course, there is nothing wrong with that. If we have a five-fold teacher as the main leader then we would be well versed in the Word of God. If we have a five-fold prophet as our set-man we would be more open to prophetic words, deliverance ministry, stronger prayer and spiritual warfare. But what if we have an apostle as our main leader? What would the dynamics in the church be then? What would the ripple effect of that grace release? Could it be possible that an apostolic five-fold gift would release something a bit different?
FIVE-FOLD APOSTOLIC GIFTS
These questions mark the importance of studying the various five-fold ascension gifts. How can you draw out what you don't know exists? It's extremely important to point out that the apostle's gift, listed as first (1 Corinthians 12:28), is still only one of five specific ascension gifts. All five gifts are extremely important, and for the church to function fully it needs all five for the perfecting of the saints. Let's take a look at some of the things that the apostolic might release.
Dominion, the apostolic has one direction to go: It seems that many are rapture-focused and far fewer dominion-focused. But no matter your view, whether it is pre-, mid- or post-tribulation, the result is that you are coming back to this earth. I believe if a person is born again then they are heaven-ready, but you can be heaven ready and still not prepared to live in victory. The apostolic grace is not preparing a people to leave the earth but to invade, occupy and influence it for Christ. Jesus said, "Occupy until I come."
Learn more about Apostolic Dynamics in
THE APOSTOLIC MINISTRY TRANSITION KIT
APOSTOLIC EQUIPPING EVERY BELIEVERS
Mobilizing into purpose: The apostolic grace is a mobilizing grace. The apostolic focuses on equipping every believer to do what they are called to do. You can't mobilize what's not prepared. Equipping is only one measure of the five-fold ascension gift function. Where a pastor might focus on identity and purpose, the apostolic takes it to the next level of "mobilizing into purpose." It's not enough to find purpose, one must seize purpose. It wasn't enough for the Israelites to see Canaan Land, they were required to cross over and "possess the land."
Equipping: Along with the other five-fold ascension gifts the apostolic identifies both spiritual and natural gifts in people and puts them where they need to be. The Church has done a good job at blessing people but the Holy Spirit wants to do more than bless people. He wants to equip them for Spirit-led living. Currently there is a shift from blessing-only focused ministry toward blessing and training people to do what they are called to do. The "one hour of power" model of ministry on Sunday mornings is being challenged. To do more than bless people will require a strong commitment from church leaders, the willingness to place a demand on people to grow, and, in some cases, a complete restructuring of the local church to leave what I call "stage ministry" and enter the apostolic dimension of equipping every believer for the work of the ministry, placing them on ministry teams, and sending them out of the local church with specific assignments.
APOSTOLIC LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT
Leadership development: Apostles don't work alone. Jesus sent them out two by two. Leadership is one of the strongest apostolic dynamics being released into the Body of Christ. Because leadership models the way, the apostolic gift is creating a leadership development culture. We know that every thing rises and falls on leadership. We also know that most organizations, including our churches, are weak in leadership and we are desperate to add more. The apostolic grace is spotlighting that weakness, and since the apostolic is relationship-based it is requiring us to spend more time on leadership development.
Out of the sanctuary: The apostolic is preparing people to get out of the sanctuary and into the world. The local church is not just a place of worship it is also a place of blessing, equipping, prophetic instruction, and governing. Our world is under demonic siege. Every night news reports broadcast the working of secular humanists that undermine the Judeo-Christian fabric of our nation, Islamic (Muslim) extremists filled with an ideology of hate that kill innocent people, and homosexual pedophiles preying on innocent children through malicious use of the Internet. The apostolic grace, working in humble unity with the other five-fold ascension gifts, is preparing Christians to invade the world with salt and light rather than escape the world.
THE ROYAL PRIESTHOOD
Kingship of the believer: Not every believer is called to be a five-fold ascension gift, but every believer is part of the royal priesthood, both priests and kings. Many believers have a hard time thinking of themselves as kings. For some, suggesting that believers adopt a kingship mentality meets with resistance because it launches negative concepts of unwarranted superiority, abuse of authority, unearned respect, and even an uppity attitude. None of these images, however, convey the intended biblical concept of kingship. The apostolic grace is leading the Church into kingship...
Click here for PART TWO
God bless you. Your partner,
© by Jonas Clark
For dynamic teaching materials go to the apostolic and prophetic resources. NEW APOSTOLIC CHURCH DYNAMICS, BENEFITS & ALIGNMENT
How to Activate the Apostolic in You (Part Two)
by Jonas Clark
Aligning Yourself To The Apostolic
So what are the benefits of aligning ourselves to the apostolic and how do we do it? To align oneself means to come alongside of or to work together with. We are not talking about a blind submission to some controlling individual that printed "Apostle So and So" on a business card. It should be clear by now that the proof of apostolic ministry is found in function and not in title. We are talking about working together with the grace from one of the five-fold ministry gifts that Jesus set in the Church. Again, the apostolic grace is only one of five gifts given to the Body of Christ. All the five-fold ministry gifts are equally important. Here are seven ways to align ourselves.
1. Model the way by having legitimate apostles minister in your church. I am not talking about network circuit preachers with flashy web sites, but real apostles who have built real churches. I realize this statement sounds unsympathetic to some and I don't want to lose any friends over this assertion. However, just as a shepherd has sheep, teachers teach, evangelists save souls, and prophets prophesy, apostles have actually built something more than an itinerating ministry. Every believer has a responsibility to "know them that labor among you" (1 Thessalonians 5:12).
2. Teach on all the five-fold ascension gifts, their different graces and what they impart to the believer and the local church. Apostles, for example, build, establish and send. Prophets see, hear and say. Evangelists flow in signs and wonders that open the doors to reach the lost. Pastors love, nurture and protect the sheep. Teachers are educators who impart a love for God's Word. Of course there are many other things you can say about each gift, the point is to teach the people.
3. Start building ministry teams and releasing people into those teams with particular assignments. Building teams is important. Focus on getting them out of the church and into your local territory. Do something the world can see. Sending out teams is the entrance into the apostolic dimension. After they complete their assignments review their effectiveness and launch them out again.
4. Get missions- and outreached-minded. Don't follow the current trend of missions retreat. Sending teams into the nations with the Gospel of Jesus Christ is one of the greatest honors for every church and is a fundamental expression of true apostolic ministry. Scripture declares that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. How will they know unless someone is sent? Adopt a city or a nation. Hook up with somebody already on the missions field or pioneer something yourself.
Learn more about Apostolic Alignment in the...
Apostolic Equipping Kit
5. Study the Bible for yourself. Read books and listen to audio tapes by apostolic leaders. Apostolic authors did not write most teaching materials in Christian bookstores so you will have to do some hunting for the right resources. (Check out TheVoiceBooks.com.) When you locate a real apostle, study his materials and listen to his teachings. You are responsible for your own education. Stay on the cutting edge of what the Holy Spirit is saying and doing today. Be careful that church success or the deception of Hollywood Christianity doesn't cause you to lose focus. You are unique, important, and valuable, and God made no duplicates on purpose.
6. Pray for an apostolic father in your life. I'm not talking about a fishing buddy, rather someone who you can spiritually draw from and will impart a seasoned wisdom into your life. Apostles are loving spiritual fathers in every sense of the word. They are vital to your spiritual development. I often wonder what my life would have been like if I would have had the wisdom of a spiritual father in my life. Like many, I had to glean from books, tapes and seminars. I remember watching those I admired being hurried away after the meetings. There was no time to speak with them. Today, however, the genuine apostolic is challenging this pattern of ministry and our leaders are becoming more touchable. A true apostolic father wants the very best for you.
7. Establish a leadership culture in your life and ministry. Start training up leaders. Again, you have probably heard it said that everything rises and falls on leadership. If that's so, then creating a leadership culture in our ministries is vital.
The Apostle Paul said "but by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I labored more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me" (1 Corinthians 15:10). Paul was an apostolic revolutionary and the apostolic grace on his life opened the Gospel to the Gentile world. What will that apostolic grace do when it is activated in you?
God bless you. Your partner,
© by Jonas Clark |
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